No babies are born in Salford. That startling fact led us to investigate why Salford is a black hole for birthing services. While Ingleside Birth and Community Centre in Swinton provides pre- and ante-natal services in the city, inpatient birthing services have been suspended since early 2022. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust blames a national shortage of midwives, and while services have technically been suspended there appears to be no realistic likelihood that any children will be born in the unit in the near future.
Salford Now has been in touch with dozens of women, who feel concerned that they must travel farther afield to give birth to their children – and sad that their babies couldn’t be born in the city in which they live. We also crunched the data and spoke to experts to understand what’s behind the lack of services in Salford – and what it means for people living, delivering their children and being born in Salford.
Over the next week, we’ll be talking to a range of people on this issue, which Salford MP Rebeca Long-Bailey has described as ‘deeply concerning’. Let us know what you think in the comments below or at now@salford.ac.uk
Mums from across Salford have spoken of their distress at having to leave the city to give birth to their babies.
A national news story about the lack of local birthing centres has shone a spotlight on the closure of the Ingleside birth centre in 2022. As a result no babies have been born in Salford for four years.
The centre was ‘temporarily’ closed due to maternity staffing issues but has never reopened.
The Guardian published an article from health policy editor Denis Campbell highlighting the closure of Ingleside as part of a wider trend of local childbirth centres being closed around the country due to a national shortage of midwives.
We wanted to know how Salford women feel about this issue. We were flooded with responses of their own experiences.
Clare Constantine, who lives close to the Ingleside birth centre, has two children and is pregnant with her third. After having appointments there this pregnancy she couldn’t believe that the birth centre was no longer open.
She said: “There’s a whole building there. Everything’s all set up and ready to go. The birthing baths are in there and it’s absolutely massive. I’ve never seen anything like it. Such a waste of money for facilities that are still there. It’s terrible and shocking.”
“The options I was given were St Mary’s in Manchester or Bolton. Not everybody lives close to there. In an emergency situation, can you imagine how stressful that would be?”
Nic Sioban used Ingleside for all scans and appointments for her baby born in 2022. When she needed to be induced she had to give birth in Bolton Hospital, but says had she not needed an induction she would have been sad to have to give birth outside Salford. She says her expreriences of giving birth to her three older children in Salford were ‘so close and personal’.
“Maternity services for women in Salford have been taken away and we were told that at least we could keep a birth centre, however this was quietly removed too.”
Other Mums from Salford have detailed their feelings over the difficulty and inconvenience these closures have caused. Issues including long trips to hospital and delivering their babies in unfamiliar environment can cause extreme stress for a woman in labour.
Additionally, residents commented that it is disappointing that their children cannot say that they were born in Salford.
For Salford’s centennial year, Kirsty Downer started a petition with over 400 signatures, which called for changes to be made and for Salford women to have access to a birth centre in their city.
Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey called the government out in 2024 claiming that “Women have been let down in Salford.” However, over two years later these issues have still not been addressed.
A spokesperson for NHS Greater Manchester said: “The safety of women and babies will always come first. Births at Ingleside remain on hold while midwifery staffing challenges continue.
“We know how important Ingleside is to families in Salford, and it continues to provide antenatal and postnatal care. It remains our commissioning intention that the centre plays an important role in local maternity services, and any future decision about resuming births would depend on safe staffing levels and be made in partnership with NHS providers.
“Our priority is ensuring women and families continue to have access to safe, high-quality maternity care while we work with partners across Greater Manchester to plan services for the future.”
Danielle Newns said: “I wanted to have my baby here but had to go to St Mary’s instead. Even though the staff at St Mary’s were really good with me and I couldn’t really fault them it was just annoying having to travel to St Mary’s when I live five minutes from Ingleside.
“Plus I would rather my baby have Salford on their birth certificate than Manchester.”
Victoria Connett Phillips said: “Unless you were willing to have a midwife-led birth, you didn’t have any options to have a baby in Salford since Hopes maternity ward (now known as Salford Royal) shut.
“A lot of women have been scared to do that so births in Salford dwindled.”
Rachel Atherton said: “I had my first baby at Ingleside. She was delivered by the lovely midwife, Sylvia. I will never forget her, she was wonderful.
“It’s such a shame that I couldn’t have my second child there. Ingleside should be brought back.”
